HP reportedly launching 7-inch tablet

Is HP following up its 9.7-inch TouchPad with a 7-inch edition?
Eric Mack/CNET

Hewlett-Packard will reportedly unveil a 7-inch tablet in August following the July 1 debut of its 9.7-inch TouchPad.

HP has ordered 400,000 to 450,000 TouchPad tablets per month from supplier Inventec, says a story in Friday's Taiwan Economic News. Inventec will supply HP with the upcoming 9.7-inch TouchPad as well as the new 7-inch tablet.

An industry insider cited by Taiwan Economic News says that HP will order around 3 million tablets from Inventec this year.

Beyond the August kickoff date, no details were revealed about the 7-inch tablet. A request to HP for comment on the prospective tablet was not immediately returned.

HP will launch its 9.7-inch TouchPad in the U.S. this coming Friday. Priced at $499.99 for the 16GB and $599.99 for the 32GB model, the tablet will be sold through a variety of retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Staples.

Running HP's WebOS and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz dual-CPU, the TouchPad will offer a 1024x768 display and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam, along with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.